Joshua "Gensetsu" Smith, PhD

Japan is often associated with delicious, fragrant dishes, innovative fashion trends, and rich historical traditions. But beyond this, Japan is also known for its quieter appeal: the way Japanese spaces are designed to create calm. The country has long embraced ideas that encourage stillness, simplicity, and rest, and these are reflected in their spaces – from ryokans and hot springs to minimalist interiors and peaceful gardens. Skyscanner’s sleep tourism stats reveal how general wellbeing...

Travel is stressful for many of us. The packed itineraries, constant movement, and the pressure to make the most of every moment can make exploration feel fast-paced and chaotic, and may leave you feeling more exhausted after your trip. However, travel in Japan is different. The country is the perfect destination for mindful travel, allowing you to explore each location slowly and intentionally instead of rushing from one place to another. Here, calmness is built into daily life – pauses...

There is a path in Kyoto that most visitors walk without knowing its story. It runs along a quiet canal in the northeastern part of the city, shaded by cherry trees in spring, heavy with gold and red in autumn. Stone walls, moss, old wooden temples. The kind of place where time moves differently. For nearly two decades — every single morning — one man walked this path alone. Not as a hobby. Not as exercise. He was thinking. Working through questions about beauty, consciousness, reality, and...